inveterate

[in-vet-er-it]

adjective

1. settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like.

   an inveterate gambler.

   Synonyms: habitual, constant, hardened

2. firmly established by long continuance, as a disease, habit, practice, feeling, etc.; chronic.

   Synonyms: rooted, fixed, set

inveterate

/ ɪnˈvɛtərɪt /

adjective

1. long established, esp so as to be deep-rooted or ingrained

   an inveterate feeling of hostility

2. (prenominal) settled or confirmed in a habit or practice, esp a bad one; hardened

   an inveterate smoker

3. obsolete,  full of hatred; hostile

Other Word Forms

• inveterately adverb
• inveterateness noun
• inveteracy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inveterate¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin inveterātus (past participle of inveterāre “to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve”), equivalent to in- in- ² + veter- (stem of vetus “old”) + -ātus -ate ¹; veteran

Word History and Origins

Origin of inveterate¹

C16: from Latin inveterātus of long standing, from inveterāre to make old, from _in- ² + vetus old

Example Sentences

They peg him as an inveterate showman who is less interested in Russia and China than dioramas of the new White House ballroom or a Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial.

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Fortunately for avid bibliophiles, Harper Lee was an inveterate pack rat.

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Dustin is an inveterate miscreant who blows town for the Army.

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When we meet him in Season 1, Gi-hun is down and out, an inveterate gambler.

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The president is having a mental breakdown in “Symphony of Rats,” a 1988 fever dream by the inveterate theatrical bad boy Richard Foreman.

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Related Words

• addicted 
• habitual 
• hard-core 
• hardened 
• incurable 
• lifelong